Why did Jesus go to such great lengths to disguise God’s truth in parables? Jesus could have given people straight information about God, but He chose to give many people only veiled truths. Why? 

“That is why I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.”

Matthew 13:13 (CSB)

Jesus’ goal was to generate relationships and conversation with people. The lack of information was supposed to make us curious. Only the ones who really wanted to know God would ask questions. Unfortunately, most people weren’t looking for connection; they just came for the show. 

Our good Father does not hide things from His children; He hides things for us. If God’s desire was to hide the truth He could simply have not spoken at all. But He chooses to speak to us in parables to see if we will pursue Him. If we do not ask or if we ask insincere, critical questions, we show that we are not really interested in hearing or knowing the truth. 

Our lack of desire, not our inability to hear, blocks relationship and keeps us in the dark. God can easily overcome our deafness, but He is looking for the free response of love. He’s not interested in forcing us to recognize His authority.

Turns out, God still speaks in parables. One day, a friend told me me that he kept seeing yellow doors everywhere, to the point where he wondered if it was a sign. Yellow is an unusual color for a door, but they were popping up everywhere for him. As I asked God what that meant, I got the word, “Opportunity.” As soon as I told him this, I got the rest. The door represented opportunity, but yellow meant he wasn’t going to accidentally miss it. God was going to make his opportunity stand out.

I’ve heard it said that hearing from God is like pulling the first tissue from the tissue box. If you need a tissue, you have to dig to grab ahold of that first one. When you pull it, the next tissue will pop up. If you want to get the whole story from God, you have to act on the first word. God is into conversations, and it takes two to converse.

God is always speaking. If you aren’t hearing from God, maybe you aren’t asking questions. Maybe you’re distracted by a lot of other noise. Maybe you haven’t acted on what He’s already told you. Maybe you are unwilling to believe He’s talking. Or maybe you simply doubt that you can hear. God has opened the conversation, will you respond by asking for more? He always answers honest requests. Got your ears on?

Blog by Glenn Fink
Facebook: @theoden.rohirrim.5
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